Once again, Kim Harrison has written a compelling book. I think I finished this one in two days. What is nice is that the entire series has an arc, not just the individual plots. The character changes and voyages of self-discovery are pretty dramatic within the confines of the book, but also over the course of the series. With both the overall plot and character arcs, you can feel the tension building to a climax sometimes down the road. I am hoping it is truly spectacular. ( )

I was suprised by the many negative reviews of "White Witch, Black Curse". I agree with many of the points made in these reviews, however I believe the good in this story far outweigh the negative points. My biggest problem with this story is actually probably my own fault, so I won't weigh that in my star giving...Its about a year between Hollows books and I found myself very confused by a lot of things in the book. I didn't remember Kisten's death well enough to really relate to the story of them trying to 'remember' the killer by walking through Kisten's boat. I couldn't remember Jenk's reasoning for giving Rachel the foretting potion. Didn't all this happen in book#5? Again my own fault, but it did leave me feeling a little out of sorts during the story. Also there is obviously still chemistry and feelings between Ivy and Rachel. I don't necessarily want them together as a romantic couple, but I think its hard to deny what Harrison is creating. And I was confused by this as well because I thought the issue was resolved in a previous installment. I too missed Trent and Ceri...and Al was such fun for each page he was on that I truly want to see more of him as well. I wasn't upset by the introduction (again) of Pierce the ghost from Rachel's past. I was annoyed by the fact that he was just this briefly seen character in a novella, and then he is referred to in the book as the "man Rachel measures every man in her life by, and they dont' have a chance of measuring up" or something along those lines. The Jenks/Matalina lifespan is becoming more and more immenant. Somethign is going to have to happen one way or another after talking about it since book #4. I can't figure out how Jenks could die and not harm the series permanently. Maybe Harrison will suprise me on this one. The storyline was ok, but I wasn't excited by the whole banshee thing. I wish that the book could have had more of a focus on finding Kisten's killer and having the resolution be totally amazing. Instead I was underwhelmed by the killer and the after effects of Kisten's murder. Maybe the biggest problem was that there was too much going on and nothing felt all that important to the overall Hallows story arc. Probably the most important thing to happen was Rachel's shunning. This could cause all kinds of future entertaining events. Marshal's exit was also kind of odd. I hope that this story was Harrison's way of wrapping up some loose ends so we can cleanly focus on the everafter and Trent, Ceri and Al. The possibilities here are endless and amazing. Harrison's writing was still well done and I still really like Rachel, Ivy and Jenks. I am grateful for having this story to read so that I could visit with them again, but it just wasn't as strong as I've come to expect. ( )

Is she or isn't she? Rachel Morgan is sure she really isn't a black witch - pretty sure anyhow. She is still reeling from the death of Kisten, her lover when her mom decides to move to Sacramento, Al (her demonic teacher) decides to snatch anyone who is close to her and a new/old friend seems to be turning into something more.

Rachel, Jenks and Ivy are involved in trying to catch a banshee. All in all not one of the nicer folks to try to corral, especially when she has a baby to feed - on people's emotions. Ivy is sworn off blood (again), Jenks' wife is nearly 20 - death age for a pixie - and they have over 50 children.
Rachel is trying to persevere in her usual way and I do believe this is the bestnovel Kim Harrison has done to date.

Fans of the series will not be disappointed when they get to the end. In fact, you'll be wanting March to come soon as that is when the next installment comes out! ( )

In general, I love the Rachel Morgan series because Rachel is fearless, fun and feisty. This book was kind of lame and Rachel was kind of lame. In fact, it was 500 pages of Rachel feeling sorry for herself. Talk about a Debbie Downer! Books are supposed to be an escape. If I wanted to be around people feeling sorry for themselves, I'd just go to work.

There wasn't a lot of action, there wasn't a lot of character growth. This felt like a typical middle book in a trilogy - the one you don't really like, but need to make your way through to get to the end. With that all said, I still want to know how it ends, so I'll be waiting for book 8. (It doesn't need to get here anytime soon ... I'm a little racheled out. ( )

This series just keeps getting better. Characters from previous episodes re-appear, get a well-rounded treatment, and leave again. The author has slowed down the pace a little bit by savoring each scene - giving the reader a "you are there" sort of feeling. Minor details are noted -- sometimes they pay off, sometimes they are just detail. We see Jenks' anguish over his aging wife. We see Rachel as student to the demon Al. We even see a character first introduced in a story when Rachel was 18. We follow some of Ivy's angst. We see her brother and mother, and close the chapter on Kisten.

In this chapter in the life of Rachel Morgan, she begins to understand some of the social consequences of accepting smut on her aura, even though the actions that got it there were motivated by a desire to rescue friends and not-exactly-friends. This is a very "slice of life" sort of book. Yes, there is a banshee to be captured, Kisten's murderer to be found, a friend-not-a-boyfriend to get to know better, a ghost to talk to, and always the next run. Quite enjoyable. She is getting to be a very powerful witch, but still concerned that she manages to get the people around her hurt as people try to get to her.

A solid entry in the series. ( )